CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified a player who scored a Pittston Area defensive touchdown. AJ Scialpi recovered a fumble in the end zone in the first quarter.
LEHMAN TWP. — Pittston Area came into Friday’s matchup with a goal to run the ball well.
But, for the second consecutive game, the passing game was put on a silver platter, and the Patriots had to take it to the air.
Pittston Area scored four unanswered touchdowns in the first quarter en route to a 48-13 victory over Lake-Lehman on Friday evening. It was the first meeting between the two Wyoming Valley Conference teams since 2001.
Quarterback Drew DeLucca completed 10-of-13 passes for 200 yards. He hit what has become his favorite target in Kevin Lockett six times for 155 yards.
“Our goal is to run the ball well,” Pittston Area coach Nick Barbieri said. “When teams are going to put eight in the box and play man on our wideouts, we’ve got to at least take a shot.”
The DeLucca-to-Lockett connection fared well in the early going. DeLucca found Lockett for 16 yards on a key fourth down play on the opening drive. On the Patriots’ second possession, Lockett touched his feet down just behind the pylons and in front of the sidelines for a 22-yard touchdown to give his team a 14-point advantage.
Merely two possessions into the contest, DeLucca completed four passes to Lockett for 128 yards.
“We’ve got to be ready for whatever teams have to throw at us the rest of the way,” Barbieri said. “If we can run it, great. If they’re going to pack the box, we’re going to throw it.”
Pittston Area’s running game was nothing to sneeze at. Harry Pugliese had another monster day on the ground, carrying 17 times for 132 yards. He scored three rushing touchdowns and two-point conversion in just the first 16 minutes of play.
The Patriots capped their 27-point first quarter with a defensive touchdown. Pittston Area rushed the Lake-Lehman quarterback backwards, and AJ Scialpi pounced on a fumble in the end zone.
Freshman Brody Spindler adjusted to his newfound role as a playmaker. The lineman-turned-tight end-turned-fullback punched in a pair of touchdowns.
“I could put any number on him except maybe No. 3 — I don’t think he can play quarterback,” Barbieri said. “We had him at offensive line, and they were playing pretty well. We needed a tight end and a fullback in certain sets. He fills that bill for us.”
Lake-Lehman scored a pair of touchdowns. Landon Schuckers ended the shutout threat with an 8-yard run at the start of the second quarter. He delivered a masterful 34-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Paraschak just before the halftime whistle.
Schuckers threw for 91 yards.
Pittston Area 48, Lake-Lehman 13
Pittston Area`27`15`6`0 — 48
Lake-Lehman`0`13`0`0 — 13
First quarter
PA — Harry Pugliese 11 run (kick failed), 8:32
PA —Kevin Lockett 22 pass from Drew DeLucca (H. Pugliese run), 5:27
PA —H. Pugliese 1 run (Robby Barbieri kick), 1:42
PA —AJ Scialpi 0 fumble return (kick failed), 1:20
Second quarter
LL — Landon Schuckers 8 run (Hunter Lee kick), 10:25
PA — H. Pugliese 7 run (Sudo pass from DeLucca), 8:06
PA — Brody Spindler 1 run (Barbieri kick), 5:54
LL — Gavin Paraschak 34 pass from Schuckers (kick failed), 00:20
Third quarter
PA — Spindler 1 run (kick failed), 5:29
Team statistics`PA`LL
First downs`20`5
Rushes-yards`38-264`22-33
Passing yards`205`91
Total yards`469`124
Passing`11-14-0`8-19-1
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`2-10
Punts-avg.`1-16`4-16
Fumbles-lost`1-1`5-2
Penalties-yards`6-35`6-50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — PA, H.Pugliese 17-132, Drew Menendez 4-32, Xzavyier Blackshear 9-71, David Eymer 1-1, Spindler 2-2, Chris Pietzak 3-25, Kyle Breymeier 1-2, TEAM 1-(minus-1). LL, Schuckers 11-34, Javon Borger 4-(minus-3), Chris Yetter 3-4, Hayden Evans 2-8, Hunter Lee 1-(minus-3), TEAM 1-(minus-7).
PASSING — PA, DeLucca 10-13-0-200, Steven Barnic 1-1-0-5. LL, Schuckers 8-14-1-91, Evans 0-5-0-0
RECEIVING — PA, Kevin Lockett 6-155, H.Pugliese 1-14, Anthony Cencetti 1-15, Anthony Ranielli 1-10, Spindler 1-6, Eymer 1-5. LL, Borger 1-6, Brandon Ritinski 3-31, Paraschak 3-48, Benjamin Dowling 1-6
INTERCEPTIONS — PA, DeLucca 1-0
MISSED FGs — Non
